Guarding my Country
by DexheartDusk
Summary: Madeline Acadia Williams always got along with her sister, Amelia. But when Amelia comes to live with her, she brings along her secrets. When every country needs a protector, who's left?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, here's a rundown of the plot: Countries need protection from humans. I don't think that has any spoilers, but if there are, please tell me.**

* * *

Amelia may have been my half-sister, but she was also my best friend. Our mothers didn't seem to mind anymore that dad hadn't been faithful. We were almost like real sisters. Except, if we were, Amelia wouldn't be a guardian.

* * *

"I can't wait!" Amelia squealed through the receiver.

I winced, but didn't comment. "Doesn't it make you even a little sad?"

"Maybe, but I get to live with you and dad!"

I felt guilty that dad had chosen to marry my mom instead of Amelia's. I didn't see any real difference between them, so my theory is he flipped a coin. Amelia thinks it's because I was born first.

"Hey, are you still there?"

I blinked in surprise. "Sorry. Yeah, I'm listening."

"Geez, Mad, you have to talk when on the phone. Mute gestures don't work. Oh, I almost forgot! Someone's coming with me. Don't worry, dad knows. It's gonna be so much fun!"

Amelia had to hang up to finish packing, but we'd see each other tomorrow.

* * *

When I opened the door, I saw a boy I didn't recognise. That didn't really mean anything, though. I didn't recognise most of the people in town. What shocked me was how much he looked like Amelia.

He wore a jacket that looked almost identical to the one she bought last time I was visiting. One key difference was that he had glasses, but they had the same grin.

"Mattie!" He cried when he saw me. "Dude, you never told me Amelia's sister was your guardian!"

"What?" _Mattie?_ I'd been called Maddie before, but never Mattie.

"Alfred!" Amelia ran up the walkway from the road. "You have to help unpack the car!" She saw me standing in the doorway and smiled. "Acadia! We got here a little earlier than expected. Is that okay?"

"Huh?" Alfred looked between me and my sister, confused. "Who's Acadia? I thought we were moving in with Madeline? Isn't she your guardian, Mattie?"

"I'm not Mattie." I said calmly. "My name is Madeline Acadia Williams. Amelia is my half-sister. Who are you?"

"This is Alfred Jones. I told you about him last night." Amelia walked past me carrying a suitcase.

Alfred ran back to the car and grabbed a few bags, then walked in like it was his house.

"You said someone was coming with you. You never said it was a boy." I ran after Amelia. "And what's a guardian?"

Amelia sighed and turned to face me. "Okay, I'll explain. But after I put these in my room. Why don't you talk to Alfred meanwhile?" She walked into the guest room beside mine that she would be using until her mom returned from her trip to Japan.

"Hey, where do you keep the burgers?"

I clenched my hand into a fist, then released it. "We don't have any. But we do have ground beef. You can make your own burgers." I turned to look at him. "Just don't burn down the house."

Alfred was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning on the frame. He looked so much like Amelia, it took me a second to remember he wasn't.

"You look a lot like him." He mumbled.

"Who?"

"My brother." He stepped closer to me. "You even have the same last name."

In the next second, three things happened at once. First, Amelia came running down the hall to the front door. Second, my cell phone rang, which it hardly ever does. And third, someone rang the doorbell three times in quick procession.

"This can't be happening." Amelia said to herself as she pulled the door open.

Standing on the porch was a boy who looked just like me if I cut my hair and wore glasses instead of contacts. He even wore the same red hoodie as me. He was holding a cell phone up to his ear.

"Matthew!" Amelia cried. She pulled him inside and glanced down the street before closing the door. "What happened to you?"

That was when I noticed the blood. There where streaks in his hair and splotches covering his jeans. He held his free hand up to his side, where there was a dark puddle forming. "They saw me." He said weakly before collapsing into Amelia's arms.

I put the bandages back in the first aid kit and looked back at the boy lying on my couch. Matthew, who turned out to be Alfred's brother, had been stabbed on his way hear. When I'd asked why he was coming here, Amelia said she'd explain once he was stable.

"Is he alright?" Alfred asked behind me.

I nodded, not sure why I felt like I'd been the one who'd been stabbed. "What did he mean by 'they saw me'?"

"Oh, it's been a problem ever since we were… kids." He stumbled over the last word. "He's always been quiet, so people never really noticed him. He'd gotten used to being invisible."

Amelia came into the room and sat beside me. "You okay?" she asked, putting arm around me.

I looked at her, puzzled. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

She shared a look with Alfred, then took a deep breath. "Matthew didn't come here because his brother was here. He came because it's your house. He knew you'd be here." She put a hand on my shoulder. "You have a connection to him, Mad. Like me, you're a Country Guardian."

I knew it must have been something important, since she didn't call me Acadia, but I had no idea what she was talking about. "Really?" I faked enthusiasm. "Wow! I had no idea. That sounds really important. But, what does that mean?"

Alfred laughed and Amelia shot him a glare. "A Guardian is a female counterpart for a country representative. Alfred represents America, so, out of all the girls in the states, I was chosen to be his protector. Matthew represents Canada, by the way."

"If you're a country, why do you need protecting?" I directed my questions at Alfred. "And who attached Matthew?"

Alfred wouldn't meet my eye. "Recently, an organization has appeared and has been threatening us. At first, no one believed them. But lately, countries have been disappearing."

"What?!" I jumped to my feet. "And this hasn't been on the news?!"

"Representatives!" Amelia clarified. "The actual land hasn't moved, but the personifications have. I should have explained it that way. Alfred _is_ America."

"Right." Alfred finally came to sit beside the couch. "That's why we needed to find our guardians. The organization wouldn't attack us if we were with civilians. But I was the only one who found a guardian in time. Last month, all the other countries had vanished." He smiled sadly at me. "That's why I was so happy when I saw you. I thought my brother was safe with a guardian."

I tried to smile. "Well, he is now. And I'll help find your friends."

* * *

**And that's the first chapter. More guardians to come. Stay tuned. And maybe comment?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it took so long. I actually finished this chapter last month, but forgot to post it. Anyway, new characters! Yay!**

* * *

"Is it really okay to leave them at home?" Amelia asked again.

I glanced around the hall to make sure no one would hear. "Dad said that he'd look out for them while we're at school. When Matthew recovers, they'll be enrolled, too. Remind me again what we should be looking for."

Amelia nodded. "Well, this is how Alfred put it. Even if they don't know they're guardians, since their charge is in danger, they'll feel sadness or a feeling of failure, since they couldn't help."

"So we should be looking for people who aren't themselves." I gulped, realizing I'd be the only one to know if someone was acting different, and I usually kept to myself.

"Well, we only have to look at the girls." Amelia smiled. "Since all countries are boys."

I looked at her sharply. "What? You said all guardians were girls. Why does the gender of the country matter?"

"Technically, it's the opposite gender." She didn't seem to understand the problem.

I shook her shoulders. "No, they aren't! Alfred told me that _almost_ all the countries were boys. That means that some are girls!"

"Some of what are girls?"

We turned around and came face to face with a boy with longish brown hair pulled back with an elastic. I gulped, trying to remember his name. "Oh, uh, hi." _David? Dylan?_ "Daniel, right?"

He smiled. "Yeah. I'm glad someone actually knows my name. People just call me Hungary. It's annoying."

"Why's that?" Amelia asked. I jabbed her ribs with my elbow.

"I just moved here from Hungary. I'm still a little homesick." He tried to laugh.

I got an idea. "Hey, when you were still in Hungary, did anyone you didn't know approach you and say you were special?"

He looked shocked. "Yeah. A woman came to my school. She said she needed my help. Ever since then, I can't seem to forget her."

Amelia gasped. "Who was she?"

"I think she said her name was Elizaveta. She wasn't a tourist, I know that much."

I grabbed Amelia's arm to stop her from jumping up and down. "We'd better get to class. I have to show my sister where everything is." I waved good-bye and was surprised when Daniel returned the gesture.

* * *

"No!" I said firmly.

Amelia glared at me through the bush. "We need to find out if he really is a Guardian." She complained.

"We are NOT stalking him!" I protested.

"I won't." She promised. "Now, if you aren't going to join me, go home. I can't hide if you keep talking to me."

"Who are you hiding from?"

We turned to see Daniel walking toward us.

"She's hiding from bullies." I said flatly. "You know what it's like. Moving to a new country."

He nodded slowly. "At least she has you for support. I didn't know anyone."

I grabbed Amelia's hand and pulled her out of the bush. "Well, it's better to go home than hide. See you tomorrow, Daniel."

"Bye." He waved before walking over to the bus stop.

"We could have asked him about it!" Amelia complained. "Now we have to wait until tomorrow!"

"We need to get home to check on Matthew." I dragged her down the sidewalk.

* * *

When I opened the front door, I had to duck to avoid a pillow. Amelia wasn't so lucky, and it hit her face, throwing her backwards. "What's going on?!" I called inside, helping her up.

Alfred came running to check on Amelia. "Well, the good news is, Matthew's awake and feeling better. Bad news, he thinks the organization's got him. Madeline, you need to go in there and calm him down."

It took me a moment to realize he was talking to me. "No one calls me Madeline." I informed him before cautiously entering the house.

The living room was a disaster zone. One of the big arm chairs was tipped over and it's cushions were on the other side of the room. The couch, where Matthew had been when we left for school, was moved to the wall, creating a blockade. I could hear sounds coming from behind it.

"Matthew?" I called, slowly approaching the couch. The response that came was not his, but my father's.

"Acadia, look out!" He yelled, jumping up behind the couch, which now seemed like more of a prison.

I turned and saw Matthew in the process of throwing another pillow. He stopped with it raised above his head and just stared at me. When he finally spoke, it was more of a whisper. "Who are you?"

"My name is Acadia." I slowly took a step toward him. "Are you alright?"

"Acadia isn't one of us!" He yelled surprisingly loud and threw the pillow.

I caught it and let it fall to the floor. "I'm not one of you." I explained. "That's just my name. Matthew, you came here yesterday with a large gash in your side. Don't you remember?"

He glanced around the room. "Why would I come here?" He asked himself more than me. "Unless…" His attention returned to me. "Is Acadia really your name?"

"Not entirely." I grumbled. "Madeline Acadia Williams. That's my full name. Apparently, I'm your guardian."

Alfred led Amelia into the room and to the pile of cushions to rest. Then he approached his brother. "Dude, Mad's just trying to help. She's the one who bandaged your side."

Matthew blushed and sank to the floor. "Sorry." He whispered. "I was scared."

I sat beside him and patted his shoulder. "Hey, I get scared all the time. You came here covered in blood, but Alfred said we couldn't take you to the hospital. I thought you were going to die." Talking about it made me start crying.

Dad managed to push the couch away and join us. "Is everything alright?" He was talking to Amelia. "Do we have to find his guardian as well?"

_So dad knows._ I thought, swiping at my eyes. _But he doesn't know about me._

"Dad." I could hear the eye roll in Amelia's voice. "Acadia's his guardian."

"Really?" his surprise was obvious. "I thought he came here because you were here."

"Dude, it doesn't work like that." Alfred laughed. "Only I have a connection to Amelia. Mattie came looking for his guardian, Maddie." Amelia snorted at the similarity.

Matthew helped me get to my feet, all the time apologizing for the attack. I told him to just forget about it, but he wouldn't listen.

"Hey, any progress?" Alfred had moved on to the matter of finding the other guardians. "I mean, you had a whole day."

"Minus classes, but yeah, a day should be enough for a clue." Amelia shocked me again at how much she sounded like her charge.

"How did it go?" Matthew asked quietly. I appeared to be the only one who heard him.

"Well, nothing's confirmed yet." I explained. "But there is a boy at school who seems not all there. He's from Hungary."

Dad left the room, saying that he wasn't really needed for this conversation. I wanted to make sure he wasn't injured, but he protested, saying a couch wouldn't hurt him too much; but I did notice a limp in his walk.

"Should we look into it?" Matthew asked, gaining confidence. But that confidence vanished when Alfred asked the same question a second later.

"We can all look tomorrow!" Amelia clapped her hands. "You'll be starting at our school!"

* * *

**Okay, so not many new people, but there will be more, I promise. And I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Please comment to let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

I was surprised by how well Matthew and Alfred adapted to school life. By the time we met up at lunch, Alfred was surrounded by kids he introduced as his new friends. Matthew seemed happy just being seen and not pushed out of the way. I glanced over at Amelia and saw that she was a little jealous. I wasn't sure if it was directed at Alfred or the girls who were clinging to him.

"Sorry." Alfred said to his friends. "Mattie and I promised to hang out with our cousins today."

That was the story we were telling everyone. Matthew and Alfred were our uncle's adopted kids who'd come to visit for a while. It was easier than trying to convince people that they were countries personified.

The boys in the group nodded and left without complaint, some even saying goodbye to Matthew, who looked shocked at the attention. The girls, however, resisted. We were so busy watching the scene they made that we didn't notice Daniel approaching from behind us.

"What's all the commotion about?" He asked.

"The girls don't want to leave." Amelia seethed with anger. Daniel looked at me for more of an explanation.

"The four of us were going to hang out and I'd show them around the school. But Alfred's female followers seem to be stuck to him."

Daniel laughed, attracting the attention of the girls. He waved at them, causing many to turn bright red. They ran down the hall like he'd been a roaring fire.

"How'd you do that?!" Amelia asked, a little too happy.

"Do what?" He was obviously a little hurt by their reaction. "That's how all girls at this school act around me. Well, except you two." He flashed us a smile.

"Hey, dude." Alfred stepped between us. "Stop flirting with our cousins."

Daniel turned red and looked away. "Sorry. I didn't mean anything to sound flirtatious."

Matthew tugged at Alfred's sleeve. "Do you think…"

Alfred squinted. "Maybe."

"We thought so, too." Amelia chimed in.

I rolled my eyes. "Are we going to tell him, or not? 'Cause, if not, stop talking about it."

"Um, I think I should leave." Daniel started walking away, but Alfred grabbed his arm.

"Sorry, but we need to talk to you." Matthew apologized for his brother's actions.

"About what?"

I stepped forward and pinched Alfred's hand until he let go. "Recently, you've been sad for no reason, haven't you?" I decided to take the direct approach, since he would have found out anyway, being able to sneak up on us. When he nodded, I continued. "That's because Elizaveta is in danger."

"Wait, what?" Daniel actually put his hands up to stop me. "You mean that girl who showed up at my old school?"

"Yeah." Alfred continued my explanation. "See, she wasn't just any girl. She _was_ Hungary."

"Now you've lost me. She was a country?"

All four of us nodded at the same time.

Despite being easygoing, Daniel looked like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. "How? People can't…. It's not possible!"

"It's true." Matthew pleaded. "Actually, I'm Canada. I was attacked because of it. There are people out there hunting us down. Hungary was probably taken just after she contacted you."

"And why me?"

"Dude, you're a guardian." Alfred was clearly impatient. "Guardians have to help their countries and protect them. Until now, they haven't really been needed. That's why you didn't know."

Daniel locked his eyes on mine, almost begging for me to say it was all a joke. "It's true. I'm Matthew's guardian." I confessed. "I only found out two days ago. Amelia's known for a while, so she's the one to ask."

Amelia slapped my shoulder. "Hey, I've only known for a few months. If you have questions, talk to Rosa."

Now I was as confused as Daniel. "Why would our cousin be a better contact?"

"'Cause she's England's guardian." Alfred explained.

"Our family's full of guardians." Amelia added.

"I'll talk to you later." Daniel said, backing up slowly.

"We aren't crazy." Amelia stated, making her sound crazy. "Honest."

He waved goodbye. "See ya, Acadia."

* * *

I met up with Daniel after the final bell so that we could talk about him being a guardian without Alfred and Amelia. He was actually calmer than I expected him to be.

"So, how are we supposed to find Elizaveta?" he asked as soon as we were alone.

"I don't know. Matthew found me." I thought a bit more. "Apparently, guardians who are aware of who they are can sense when another country is nearby." Amelia had explained to me that was how she'd known Matthew was at the door before we had. "First, we should train our senses."

Daniel nodded. "But we don't know what those sense feel like. What if we feel their presence, but don't realize it?"

"You ask really good questions." I commented. "We should talk to Amelia about it. Or even contact Rosa."

"Could it be like feeling ghosts?" Daniel asked. "A girl at my old school said that Elizaveta was a spirit because she came up on her 'Paranormal-Radar'." He couldn't help the laugh that escaped at the name.

"It might. I really have no idea." I pulled out my cell phone and texted Amelia the question. "What was her name?"

"Julchen Beilschmidt. We were friends when we were little." Daniel pulled his wallet out of his bag and showed me a picture of him and two girls. "That's her." He pointed at the girl with long white hair and a scar on her cheek.

I felt a shiver run down my spine. The girl looked ready to kill. "Um, how did she get that scar?"

Daniel laughed. "She tried to… I guess you would call it sledding here. Except she tried it in the summer. She hit a tree head first."

I laughed, too. "Did she ever get into fights?"

"All the time." He pointed to the other girl. "Most of the time, she fought with Sophia."

"Not physically, I hope." The other girl looked like a model or something. Her long brown hair was held back with a jeweled hairpin and she wore a purple gown that suggested she came from a noble family.

Daniel laughed again. "No, but she did brawl with her bodyguards. Sophia was an exchange student from Austria."

"Which one did you like more?" Amelia asked, popping out of the bushes behind us.

"What?" Daniel blushed. "Well, we were all friends."

Amelia ignored his response, obviously more interested in finding the other guardians, which she should have been, anyway. "So, it's not exactly like sensing ghosts, but it's similar. It's kind of like a half-presence, since countries aren't really human."

"So Julchen might be a guardian." I translated. "But we can't be certain unless we meet her."

"Well, then let's go to my house." Daniel suggested. "She's visiting for the week."

* * *

**Sorry it took so long. Working on other stories, so this one's taking back seat. But I'm still working, so more will come.**


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